: About Me

James Wilde was born in the East-End of London in the mid nineteen fifties and spent the first seven years of his life sharing a rented bottom floor of a house in Battersea with two younger brothers and a younger sister before his parents moved the family to Dunstable in Bedfordshire for the start of a better life.

There a second sister appeared and the large family then moved back towards London living in Enfield.

Another move to Bristol saw James enter his teen years and after a rather messy affair which saw the whole family evicted and the father out of work they then settled down in Eastville Bristol living next door to the Bristol Rovers Football Ground.

When he was fifteen James joined the army going in as a junior to Bovington in Dorset and then spent the best part of the next nine years based in Germany from where tours of Northern Ireland and Canada were carried out.

Upon coming out of the Forces he settled in Southampton for seventeen years and it was here that he qualified as a football referee which took him to places near and far and was able to meet some of his hero's who played the beautiful game.

After a divorce which saw him then changing jobs he moved back to London.

James is now married to Caroline and they live on the outskirts of London not far from Windsor.

He has three children from his previous marriage - Emma, Lauren and Chris who still live in Southampton.

My passion is ...

spending as much time as possible in the beautiful countryside of Yorkshire where my wife Caroline comes from.

I know too much about ...

whiskey!

My parents always told me ...

to work and play hard.

My childhood ambition ...

to play professional football. When I was twelve I wrote to Bobby Charlton for advice. Sadly I was never going to make the grade.

My favorite memory ...

was seeing my wife Caroline on our wedding day. She looked absolutely beautiful and stunning in her wedding dress.

Why I write ...

it gives me a chance to share my thoughts and views with others and opens up debate.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

crime thrillers and watching sport - mainly football. I enjoy listening to a range of music especially piano.

My first job ...

when I joined the Army as a Junior Leader at the age of fifteen. It was the making of me!

My best moment ...

meeting my wife Caroline

My inspiration ...

has to be Caroline who encourages me in everything I do.

Politics, News & Issues > Sports Archives Will England qualify for UEFA Euro 2008

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If we ever needed to win a friendly game against the old enemy Germany then it surely had to be this one. There had been a lot of talk from those in charge including the team coach Steve McClaren of making Wembley a fortress before the crucial qualifiers starting with Israel and Russia in September. However a draw against Brazil and then losing this game to Germany is hardly going to strike fear into the hearts of the opposition yet to visit this great stadium. I am sure that the scouts present at this game would have seen very little really to convince them that England are actually the f...

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